Improvement in printing and dial telegraphs and circuits therefor



H. D. ROGERS.

Printing and Dial Telegraphs and Circuits Therefnr. No. 139,690.PatentedJune10,l873.

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Printing and Dial Telegraphs and Circuits Therefor.

N0. 139,690. Patentedjune10,1873.

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Patented June-10, 1873 I Em k m r -25 PRO 0558.

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UNITED STATES PATENT CFFICEI.

HIRAM D. ROGERS, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN PRINTING AND DIAL TELEGRAPHS AND CIRCUITS THEREFOR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 139.690, dated J une10, 1873 {application filed May 24, 11573.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HIRAM D. ROGERS, of Cincinnati, in the county ofHamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Telegraph Apparatus; and I do hereby declare thefollowing L tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains tomake and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, whichform part of this specification, in which drawings- Figure 1 representsa plan view of what I term my improved combination instrument.

Fig. 2 a side, and Fig. 3 a plan, view of a printing-telegraphinstrument embodying my improvements thereon. Fig. 4 shows thearrangement of numerals upon the type-wheel,

. and illustrates the strip of copper or other ductile material readyfor attachment to a wheel to form my improved type-wheel.

claims:

A in Fig. 1 is any suitable base, upon which is secured a printing ordial telegraph instrument, or one that is a combination of both.

' The one here shown is a dial instrument of the kind known as theGilliland instrument. Upon this base are also secured the Morse sounderG, a key, D, and switches d and e. The line enters and leaves theinstrument by the posts 0 b, the location of which is not material.

The operation of the combination is readily seen by following thecircuits, as shown in The switch d being turned so as to close thecircuit to the key D, the switch F closes the circuit either through thesounder G or dial instrument B. These two switches are here shown sothat the key D may be entirely cut out of the circuit without interfer-"ferred, however, one switch only may be used,

the circuit proceeding directly from I) to key D; thence to a switchlocated at, say, point G, the circuit going thence through the sounderor through the dial or printing instrument to post 0, according to theposition of the switch. p

This combination is especially useful for railroad, municipal, andprivate lines, where there may be some stations at which there are Morseoperators, and other stations with which it is desirable to maintaincommunication at which the amount of business would not justify theexpense of an operator. All stations can be provided with thisinstrument and brought into communication with each other, as by simplyturning one switch the line becomes either a regular Morse line or aprinting and dial line, capable of being used by any one who can read.

For use in this combination I have devised the form of a transmitter,shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The general construction of this transmitter" isthe same as shown in the transmitter described in Letters Patent, ownedby me, but differing in the following particulars: The handled is madein two parts, hinged at f, so that the outer end has a slightup-and-down motion, while the whole handle is practically rigid whenswung around horizontally. A spring, g, is fixed underneath the hinge,so as to normally keep the outer piece in the same plane as the innerpiece. Upon the frame -L of the transmitter is fixed the bracket 10,having an anvil, h, immediately beneath a corresponding contact-point onthe arm J. It follows, hence, that it the switch t be turned onto thepoint 12, the circuit will be through the spring 1 and break-wheel H;but if it be turned onto the point m, from which a a wire leads to theanvil h, then the circuit can be completed or interrupted through theanvil and contact-point, and the transmitter becomes a regular Morsekey. it is also evident that these devices may be modified withoutdeparting from the spirit of this portion of my invention. For instance,the switchi may be dispensed with, the circuit-wires being branchedinstead, one'leading directly to the spring and one to the anvil.instead of being hinged, the arm J may be made of a strap of springymetal, or a small. Morse key could be attached directly upon thebreak-wheel H.

Figs. 2 and 3 are plan and side views of the Gilliland instrumentreferred to, further perfected by having a printing attachment added. .Mis an electro-magnet, operated directly, or through a relay, by themain-line circuit, and it in turn operates, through its armature U,pivoted at u, the escapement mechanism turnin g the dial-fingers andtype-wheel. This type-wheel is secured to a prolongation of the shaftused in the Gilliland dial instrument. N is the electro-magnet operatingthe printingarmature O and printing-pad t, pivoted at '0. Instead of theelectro-magnet being placed horizontally, it may be vertical, in whichcase the armature 0 would be straight instead of bent. This magnet isactuated by a local circuit controlled automatically by acircuitbrcaker, as follows: Upon the outer end of the dial andtype-wheel shaft is secured a star ratchet-wheel, 19, having a number ofsmall V-shaped teeth upon its periphery. These teeth are cut thereon insuch relation to the figures and letters of the type-wheel that wheneverthetype-wheel is arrested one of the interdental spaces shall be inposition to let the small teat or projection upon the under side of thespring or strip 8 fall therein. The spring or strip 8 is of metal, andhinged loosely to the post q, and rests, when permitted by the wheel 1),on the top of the post 1". The circuit of the local printing-battery tothe magnet N is made through the posts 1 and q and strip 8. It, then, 10be rapidly rotated, as it will be when the type-wheel is being turned toa selected letter, the teeth upon the wheel will keep the strip 8vibrating rapidly, so that the circuit through N will be so rapidly madeand broken that the magnet N will not have time to become magnetized andattract its armature to effect the printing. Whenever the type-wheel,however, is momentarily stopped at a selected letter, the

. strip 8 will remain upon the posts and close the circuit to N asufficient time for it to become magnetized, attracting, consequently,its armature, and effecting the printing of the selected letter. Localcircuit-breakers or relays have been before used in this connection, butan objection against them has existed in that when the instrument wasnot in use the local circuit was left closed, entailing a great waste oruseless consumption of the local battery. My improvement in thecircuit-breaker obviates this difficulty. Upon the circuit-breakingwheel, at a point, 01:, arranged thereon in such relation to thetype-wheel that whenever the zero-point, or point of beginning on thetype-wheel, is over'the printing-pad, the point 00 on the break-wheelshall be under the teat or point of the spring 8. The wheel is leftraised or plane, no teeth being cut for a space equivalent to thatoccupied usually by two teeth, so that, after the operator is throughwith the immediate use of the instrument, if, as is usual, thetype-wheel be thrown to the zero or starting point, the plane surfaceelevates and holds up the strip 8 from contact with post 1", thuskeepingthe local circuit broken,

and avoiding the battery consumption due I to a continuously-closedcircuit. Another form of circuit-breaker, embodying the same principle,is shown at Fig. 5, in which A is a metallic wheel, having insulatedspaces B upon its periphery. The number of metallic spaces left therebyis equal in number. to the letter spaces on the type-wheel, so that thespring or strip E shall rest upon one of them whenever the type-wheel isstopped, it being understood that the wheel A is on the type-wheel shaftin place of the ratchet-wheel 1). Upon the point on this wheelcorresponding to the zero-point on the typewheel, there is a doubleinsulated space, C, so that when the instrument is stopped and thetype-wheel at the zero-point, the spring E rests on C, breaking thecircuit of the local printing-battery L B, the circuit of which is shownby dotted lines in Fig. 5, it being understood that the printing-magnetis included therein.

In order to avoid the delay incident to having all the letters andnumerals stretched out in rotation upon the face of the type-wheel, Iarrange them as shown in Fig. 4--that is, the face of the wheel is madesomewhat wider than usual, and the numerals are arranged thereonunderneath the letters. The figures are arranged under such consonantsas will, under no circumstances, form an intelligible word when anumeral embracing several figures is printed. By this arrangement thespeed of a step-by-step instrument is practically increased twenty-fiveper cent., as four revolutions of the type-wheel can be made in the sametime, and by the same number of electrical'impulses, as three could beif the numerals and letters followed each other in regular order. Inusing a type-wheel so arranged, a like arrangement must be made on thetransmitter, shown in Fig. 6.

Ordinarily the type-wheels of printing-telegraphs are made of steel, onwhich the letters and figures are cut, and consequently they are verycostly, and their expense forms a con siderable item of the expenseattendant upon the manufacture of printing-telegraphs. In order tolessen this expense, I construct my wheel as follows: Upon a flat stripof copper or other ductile material, of the width desired for thetype-wheel face, and of a length equal to the circumference thereof, theletters and figures are raised by embossing, casting, striking up,electrotyping, or other suitable way. This strip is then bent around andsoldered upon the face of a type-wheel frame, either solid or skeleton.

A cheap and durable wheel may be-made in like manner, or the wheel maybe entirely of rubber.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim,and desire to secure byLetters Pat ent, is 1 1. The arrangement,in one main-line circuit andupon one base, of the dial or printing telegraph instrument, a Morsereceiving-instrument, and a circuit-breaking device,substantially asherein set forth.

2. The combination, with the flexible arm of the transmitter, of ananvil, so arranged that the transmitter serves either as a dial orprinting transmitter, or as a Morse key, substantially as set forth.

3. In combination with a printing-telegraph, a circuit-breaker,operating the printing-circuit, arranged to keep such circuit broken ata designated point, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the printing-magnet of a telegraph instrument,of the posts q splring s, and wheel 19, substantially as set ort 5. Thecircuit-breakin g wheel 10, having the 6. The type-wheel having thenumerals arranged upon its face below, and in the relation to theletters thereon, substantially as set forth.

7. The method of constructing the typewheel, substantially as set forth,by first formin g the characters upon aflexible strip, which is thenaffixed to the type-wheel frame, as herein described. y

8. A type-wheel formed by the union of a lettered strip of metal orother material and a frame, substantially as set forth. i

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this8th day of March, 1873.

HIRAM D. ROGERS.

Witnesses:

E. P. BRADSTREET,

A. DRAHMANN.

